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Saturday, August 23, 2014

Book Review- Our Mutual Friend

Our Mutual Friend was another great read by Dickens for me this summer. It was incredibly long (probably the longest of all of his books) but still quite a good read. If you're familiar with Dickens you'll know how he tends to have many side stories and tons and tons of characters and Our Mutual Friend was no stranger to this trend and indeed it probably had the most side stories and characters of all of his novels. It was actually Dickens' last completed novel.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads: A satiric masterpiece about the allure and peril of money, Our Mutual Friend revolves around the inheritance of a dust-heap where the rich throw their trash. When the body of John Harmon, the dust-heap’s expected heir, is found in the Thames, fortunes change hands surprisingly, raising to new heights “Noddy” Boffin, a low-born but kindly clerk who becomes “the Golden Dustman.” Charles Dickens’s last complete novel, Our Mutual Friend encompasses the great themes of his earlier works: the pretensions of the nouveaux riches, the ingenuousness of the aspiring poor, and the unfailing power of wealth to corrupt all who crave it. With its flavorful cast of characters and numerous subplots, Our Mutual Friend is one of Dickens’s most complex—and satisfying—novels.

Writing this review is a little hard as there are a lot of little twists and turns in this novel (and a big twist at the end!) and I don't like to give spoilers. I really liked the characters, especially Bella Wilfer. How the book looked at power and money was intriguing and well done. Though there were tons and tons of side characters, they all had an interesting story and it was cleverly crafted how they all were connected. All in all I enjoyed it, though it was sometimes tediously long.... then again that's Dickens. ;)
I hear there is a good miniseries of Our Mutual Friend that I'm going to try and watch soon. I'm excited to see the characters come to life.

I am a young Christian woman seeking to do the will of God in all I say do and think. I love reading, crocheting, Doctor Who and drinking tea. Currently, I work as a nurse in a hospital. I'm recently married and loving it!